Community safety policies

Anti-social behaviour

"RAC recognises that behaviour which is inherently anti-social such as road rage, loitering and criminal damage, adversely affects the local amenity expected by society, resulting in members enduring emotional and financial hardship.

Anti-social behaviour also provides an environment within which disorder can foster more serious criminal offences.

Any deterrence strategies need to be active through the use of fines or the judicial process for more serious offences, and passive such as the adoption and implementation of crime prevention through environmental design principles.

In supporting government initiatives to combat the incidence of anti-social behaviour, RAC believes that any approach needs to:

• (a) Be fully integrated within any whole of government strategies.
• (b) Maintain a balance between active and passive forms of deterrence.
• (c) Ensure that proposed strategies have proven successful in other jurisdictions and are likely to have comparable success in Western Australia.
• (d) Be mindful of the rights and responsibilities of all members of society."

Burglary prevention

"RAC acknowledges that domestic burglary is an insidious crime that not only involves the direct action of property theft, but also indirectly by causing victims to feel violated and more fearful of crime.

RAC supports any sustained government effort to reduce the rate of burglary offences in our community through the judicious use of targeted schemes and strategies, over the long-term with guaranteed sustained financial resources.

RAC urges the State Government to work with stakeholders to implement and evaluate programs proven to reduce the incidence of burglary as well as vigorously promoting safety advice and tactics which can be utilised by the community to protect themselves against victimisation."

Motor vehicle theft

"RAC, while acknowledging that theft of a motor vehicle places significant financial and emotional costs upon the victim and the wider community, recognises consumer awareness and situational crime prevention techniques will facilitate a lower number of stolen vehicles.

While vehicle immobilisers have been a major deterrent for opportunistic thefts, highlighted by reported offences falling by over 50 percent since 1994, they provide little resistance to theft by professional thieves who often employ high-technology techniques to circumvent vehicle security measures.

Opportunistic thefts, widely seen as a precursor to the committing of more serious crimes and characterised by the targeted vehicle being used for joy-riding or in the execution of other crimes such as robbery, account for the majority of offences. The main strategies to combat include target hardening the vehicle and the implementation of situational crime prevention techniques in high theft areas.

Professional thefts however, are characterised by later model and some commercial vehicles being specifically targeted by offenders. This culminates in lower police clearance rates than opportunistic thefts, as the vehicles are not recovered as readily.

In this instance the strategies to combat motor vehicle theft need to be differentiated as distinct tactics will be needed depending on the type of offender.

RAC:

• (a) Strongly supports the use of specialised police teams (such the Motor Vehicle Theft Squad) to target professional thieves.
• (b) Calls on the State Government to consider utilising situational crime prevention techniques, including street lighting and landscaping, to reduce the opportunity to offend."

Public transport

An efficient and effective public transport system is fundamental to the management of traffic demand by allowing people to move freely and safely within the community.

Public transport should be promoted as an alternative to private transport particularly for trips to destinations with a high user density.

Included within this is the provision of appropriate transport interchange facilities, encompassing secure car and bicycle parking to further encourage the use of public transport.

It is imperative that government and transport operators work together to ensure that all necessary and effective steps are taken to improve the actual and perceived personal safety of passengers.

Road rage

"Road rage is driving-related aggression of an impulsive nature and between strangers, precipitated by an incident involving a vehicle, where the subsequent actions or behaviour of one road user towards another are intended or interpreted as being intimidatory.

RAC is concerned that road rage has a negative impact upon the safety of Western Australia's road users.

While its existence may be due in part to the pressures of modern life and a general societal increase in anti-social behaviour, it is essential that road users are actively dissuaded from engaging such conduct.

RAC urges the WA government to investigate the implementation of education and information dissemination programs designed to reduce the prevalence of road rage incidents, appropriate legislative measures and appropriate enforcement provisions.

RAC is concerned that the lack of statistics makes the tracking of road rage trends impossible. The government should continuously monitor the prevalence of these incidents so that an accurate representation of road rage can be developed.

Any measures or programs adopted by the government should be vigorously promoted to road users to minimise the possibility of them becoming a victim or offender."

Robbery prevention

"RAC supports government efforts to reduce the rate of burglaries in our community, and that prevention of other crimes such as robbery should be afforded similar attention.

Robbery is a serious crime in society and deserves a higher level of attention by government.

RAC urges the WA government to work with stakeholders implementing and evaluating programs proven to reduce the incidence of robbery as well as vigorously promoting safety tips and strategies which can be utilised by the community to protect themselves against attack."

Situational crime prevention (crime prevention through environmental design)

"RAC recognises that opportunistic crime is largely the result of inadequate community guardianship which gives rise to increased opportunities for criminal behaviour.

By reducing the opportunity to commit an offence by way of situational crime prevention techniques, such as crime prevention through environmental design, the incidence of criminal activity in that area will decline, provided that it is not implemented in isolation but coupled with targeted crime prevention strategies.

RAC is aware that by decreasing opportunities to offend, a particular area is then more attractive for legitimate users who in turn, by increasing guardianship, will sustain any decrease in criminal behaviour over the medium to long term.

It is contingent upon the government to ensure that strategies are implemented with situational crime prevention in mind so that maximum benefit may be realised.

RAC calls on the government to:

• (a) Seek that all government building projects adhere, whether tendered to the private sector of not, to the ‘Western Australian Planning Commission Designing Out Crime Planning Guidelines'.
• (b) Develop a strategy for altering existing government buildings, facilities and open space to comply with the ‘Western Australian Planning Commission Designing Out Crime Planning Guidelines' is developed and implemented.
• (c) Maintain and preserve recurrent funing for the crime prevention through environmental design fund.
• (d) Actively encourage Local Government to consider planning approval for new constructions within their jurisdiction be granted on adherence to the ‘Western Australian Planning Commission Designing Out Crime Planning Guidelines'.
• (e) Actively encourage private developers to comply with the ‘Western Australian Planning Commission Designing Out Crime Planning Guidelines'.
• (f) Include consideration of Situational Crime Prevention principles and techniques, implemented simultaneously, for all future crime prevention strategies either funded or operated by the State. 

Victims support policy

"While RAC acknowledges the current downward trend in reported offences to police, it is important that victims of all offences are aware of, and are afforded counselling support whether that be provided by the State or the non-government sector. It is also important that funding provided support is increased to ensure that victims of lesser serious crimes are automatically referred to appropriate support.

RAC calls on the WA government to:

• (a) Provide additional funding for victim support services to allow police to refer victims of all offences to the appropriate service provider.
• (b) Provide additional funding to allow adequate services to expand in regional WA thus increasing the level of support currently provided in smaller towns.
• (c) Provide core funding to those providers in the non-government sector to ensure they are able to adequately meet the needs of their constituents.
• (d) Investigate ways that information can be provided more effectively to all victims, regardless of whether they report the offence to police or not, detailing their options for support, options available to them including emotional and legal support.
• (e) Provide information or additional support services, concentrate on the most vulnerable and victimised in our society."

Violence prevention policy

"Western Australia is often lauded as being relatively crime and violence free, and Whileacknowledging the work done by relevant government agencies including the WA Police Service, it should be remembered that many members of society are victims of violent and invasive acts who may sustain significant physical and psychological injury.

RAC urges the WA government to:

• a) Work with stakeholders, implementing and evaluating structural crime prevention and educational intervention programs proven to reduce the incidence of violence.